Halloween for the Grown-ups

Sure, Halloween was fun as a kid. But whether you've managed to ditch them with a babysitter, or you are just unencumbered with little ones, you're going to want to experience the ghosts and ghouls of Washington, DC in your own way. Yesterday's post covered lots of great ideas, but let's be frank here. If you throw on a sheet, call yourself a ghost, and walk down East Capitol Street and don't have a kid or two in tow, at best you're going to get a few weird looks.

So let's take a look at a few ideas for adults:

1. Georgetown: This is the traditional place to go for a wild and crazy time in Washington, DC. It will be, as always, a madhouse, especially as this year Halloween falls on a Saturday night. That can either be a selling point or a warning to you. If you're looking for thousands of people decked out in costumes, hopping from bar to bar, with crowds spilling off the sidewalks, than this is for you. If not, go nowhere near it Halloween night (or probably the 30th as well). Keep reading and we'll find something more your taste. Now, I wonder if my wife and kids will notice if I sneak off after they've gone asleep....

2. Embassy Row: If you're looking for a different feel than the packed masses in Georgetown, head over to Dupont Circle and check out the Embassies along Massachusetts Avenue. This is another DC tradition, with most (but not all) of the Embassy's handing out goodies. It's a fun way to get a little culture in before you take advantage of the area's many bars and clubs.

3. H Street: H Street NE is relatively new to the Halloween scene, but it promises to be a good time. They are embracing the Dia de los Muertos theme this year for the week of Halloween. Many of the bars and restaurants are offering specials the week prior, and will be building, I kid you not, shrines to the dead in front of there stores. It culminates in a Thriller on H Street party on Friday, the 30th, at 9 pm. Costume contests, drink specials, and, believe it or not, a haunted golf course, will be on tap for Halloween night. I'm hard pressed to list a "favorite" H ST bar, but let's just say that Palace of Wonders can be spooky any day of the year. More about H ST can be found on The Hill is Home's Halloween round-up.

4. Ghost Tours! - You knew it was coming!. Without shame I'll push my outfit, Ghost Tours DC. We'll be running tours in Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill at 8 pm on the 23rd, 24th, 30th and 31st. If you must, here are a few other ghost tours going on:

• Old Town Alexandria: Alexandria Colonial Tours offers a walking tour of Old Town that ends up in a grave yard! Spooky stuff. Its popular so I would recommend booking early.
• Lafayette Park: Washington Walks, an excellent local tour company that offers a variety of walking tours, features a Most Haunted Houses tour Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights (seasonally). Lafayette Square across from the White House is probably the most ghost-intensive section of the city, and they cover a few of the ghosts of White House as well.
• Congressional Cemetery: Be sure to watch out for more discussion of this incredible place in the future, but for now I'd highly recommend their ghoulish Halloween tour they are giving on the 31st at 11 and 11:30 am. The Cemetery is easy to get to from the Blue and Orange Line. Exit at Potomac Avenue and walk up the Avenue to 18th St. The tours meet at the gatehouse on the corner.

This is just a few of the many offerings DC rolls out for Halloween. If you have any favorites I left out, leave them for others to see in the comments. And join DC Like a Local next week when we embark on a week of ghost stories set in your nation's capital.

Halloween for Grown-ups

"Oh say, can you see?"

Having finished smacking down the unruly upstarts, the British began the process of withdrawing from Washington, DC, and returning to their ships in the Patuxant River. Had it not been for the incoherent nature of American leadership at that point, the British were horribly overexposed and could have had a difficult time retreating, a thought very much on General Ross's mind. He had been reluctant of the whole venture, and the Naval commander, Admiral Cockburn had to coax him into it. Fortunately for him, he had little to fear.

On the afternoon of the 25th, a fierce summer storm hit Washington, knocking chimneys off roofs and men off horses. Shredding what little remained of discipline in the Americans, it allowed the British to withdraw without incident, despite the several injuries it caused to their own. So quietly was it done, that many American's thought they had snuck away. Presumably, we were just unused to the difference between "professional army" and "traveling circus".

In their wake, the British left behind a shattered city and an outraged country. As Washingtonians struggled to rebuild, the British set their eyes on the early nineteenth Century's version of Somalia: Baltimore. Eager to rid themselves of what they considered a "nest of pirates", the English planned to destroy the port of Baltimore, guarded, of course, by Ft. McHenry. Furious at the destruction of their Capitol, Americans flooded Baltimore to defend her, and under the able leadership of Major General Samuel Smith, were ultimately successful. You know this part of the story, right? Remember "bombs bursting in air" and "rockets red glare"? Yeah, you don't need my help here.

Part of the enduring popularity of the Star Spangled Banner came from this sense, that after being so humiliatingly defeated at Washington, our defense of Ft. McHenry recaptured some of our pride. It was possible for American soldiers, properly led and inspired to stand up to the British Lion and tweak his tail. But, as this is DC, and not Baltimore, Like a Local what do we care? Because, the Star Spangled Banner is here in DC, of course. The centerpiece of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History; it occupies a new and specially designed gallery directly across the foyer as you come in the Mall Entrance. And, if you catch the timing right, flag creator Mary Pickersgill will take the time to explain how she made it.

But that's all in the future. Back in the summer of 1814, Congress reconvened in Blodgett's Hotel, then the site of the Patent Office. The British had spared it as the head of the Patent Office, Dr. William Thornton, had argued that while the building was public, the patent models inside were private property of the inventors. Impressed with the argument, short of time, and probably just wanting the annoying man to go away, the British spared the building. Congress resisted calls to move the capital elsewhere (New York and Cincinnati were suggested), and rebuilding soon commenced under architect Benjamin Latrobe. Blodgett's Hotel burned many years later (on it's own, without British help) and become the site of the General Post Office, now the Hotel Monaco.

Down Pennsylvania Avenue from the rebuilding Capitol, Jemmy and Dolley were similarly unable to occupy the gutted White House and took up residence in the nearby, and still-standing, Octagon House, also designed by Dr. Thornton. The mansion's owner, Col. John Tayloe (technically his wife), ensured the building's survival by hosting the French Ambassador, thereby making the building, albeit temporarily, a diplomatic residence. It would be in it's study, a year and a half later on February 17th, 1816, that President Madison would sign the Treaty of Ghent, officially ending the increasingly poorly-named War of 1812.